Main menu

Tag Archives: Stingray Hideaway

A Hideaway for You… and for Stingrays, Too!This is Part 2 of the Transformation of Stingray Hideaway. Read Part 1 here.

Everything is coming together so that Stingray Hideaway can be an interactive, tropical “hideaway” for all of our guests… and also for our stingrays!

Cownose stingrays will be the exhibit’s highlight species. The exhibit was designed with them in mind.

Cownose stingrays are the exhibit’s highlight species, so the touch tank was designed specifically with them in mind. The design of the water flow and the rounded edges of the tank were created for them and the flat rays and fish that will be joining them in their new home. There is also going to be gravel at the bottom of the touch tanks, so the rays can burrow in and have their own hideaway if they want it.

The 30-foot lit tunnel is the perfect size for small children (and for their parents to crawl in with them if they wish!)

As you walk through the construction site, you can see the various areas of the exhibit coming together, each designed for a specific age group. The walls of the touch tank change in height to accommodate younger kids, older kids, and kids-at-heart.

The 30-foot lit tunnel is the perfect size for small children (and for their parents to crawl in with them if they wish!). A shorter touch tank will house epaulette sharks and other small animals for the smallest aquarium visitors to get in on the interactive touch experience. There’s a little bit of everything, and something for everyone!

Stingray Hideaway has touch experiences for everyone, including a smaller touch tank for our littlest guests.

“This is one of the most unique touch tanks I’ve ever seen,” Gibula said, “because it’s not just a touch tank, but an adventure and an experience for the kids. It gives kids a chance to explore on their own if they want to, to go into the tunnel and have an adventure while their parents watch from outside. Or, parents can go in with their kids if they want to!”

When kids go through the finished 30-foot tunnel, they will be able to see cownose rays smiling down at them from the tank above!

Getting the Water Ready

One area of Stingray Hideaway that Gibula is most passionate about is a vitally important part of the tank that most people will never see: the water filtration system that sits underneath the exhibit.

Before the water can go into the tanks upstairs, it has to cycle through the filtration system for 6-8 weeks. Here, a colony of good bacteria grows thanks to a vat of bioballs of ammonia, simulating fish waste in nature.

Much research and thought went into the design for the system. Gibula modified the existing filtration system from Canyon Falls as much as possible, but other equipment was added and created, too. There are brand-new protein skimmers for removing large organic waste, an ozone sterilization tower that is used to polish the water for animals and guests alike, sand filters to remove particulate, pumps for flow, a cooling and heating control system… and it’s all be primed and seeded weeks ahead of filling up the tanks upstairs.

“It takes six to eight weeks to cycle the water through all of the systems to prepare it for the animals,” Gibula said. Right now, that means recruiting beneficial nitrifying bacteria. The water is circulating in a giant 1000 gallon vat, and raining over the bioballs. These bioballs give the bacteria a large amount of surface area for them to colonize and concentrate. We “feed” the bacteria a chemical call ammonium chloride. This chemical addition to the bacteria, simulates as though there are animals in the water creating natural toxins / waste. As the bacteria concentrates, the waste products are removed from the system at a quicker and quicker rate. Eventually reaching a point safe point for the animals.

You may have a small protein skimmer on your home aquarium, but Stingray Hideaway has two huge ones! They’re designed to clear away organic waste and pump up to 300 gallon per minute each.

“In our industry this is call inorganic cycling. It is a way to get the water conditioned for animals without putting any animal at risk.” Gibula adds. Newport Aquarium has been using variants of this technique since its inception.

The Big Day is Almost Here!

Thanks to Gibula and all of the behind-the-scenes efforts by so many people here at the aquarium as well as all the local Cincinnati contractors and suppliers who have helped along the way, the transformation of Stingray Hideaway gets a little closer to completion every day.

From inside the 30-foot tunnel, kids of all ages will be able to look up to see cownose rays smiling and waving at them from above.

There are three things Gibula looks forward to seeing with regard to a new exhibit build. First is when the final fill happens and the water is running in the system. Second is when the animals are added to the exhibit and are doing as well or better than expected. Third, is the day he gets to sit in street clothes and watch family after family playing, learning, and gaining a respect for our planet’s amazing diversity, “Seeing their expressions, laughing together and wondering if what Newport Aquarium built may have inspired the next Sylvia Earle, Eugenie Clarke, Paul Watson or Jacques Cousteau,” Gibula said.

That third day is Gibula’s favorite moment, main motivation and mission for doing what he does. And that day is getting closer and closer—stay tuned!

NEWPORT, Ky—Since the announcement of Stingray Hideaway: Enter their World in January, the site has undergone an incredible transformation as we prepare for our stingrays—and for all of you!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Stingray Hideaway is Coming Together!

Walk into the construction zone and you can see everything taking shape: the 17,000-gallon stingray touch pool’s waterproofing has begun, the almost 30-foot tunnel is in place and the silicone seals are drying, the rock work décor walls are being reconstructed, and much more. Soon, the tanks will be 100% waterproofed and leak testing will commence. Then we will convert it to saltwater. Once the environment has passed its evaluation and quality control process … the stingrays will arrive!

Zoological Operations and Exhibit Design Manager Jeff Gibula has been working on Stingray Hideaway for two years, helping oversee all aspects of design and construction.

According to Jeff Gibula, Zoological Operations and Exhibit Design Manager, Stingray Hideaway is becoming one of the biggest transformations to an attraction space since its expansion in 2005.

That transformation did not come about overnight, or even in a couple of months! The project has been two plus years in the making, and has involved the coordinated efforts of a lot of people and skill sets to make it happen.

Soon, we’ll all get to see the brand-new finished space, but for now, let’s take a look behind-the-scenes at Stingray Hideaway’s transformation.

Two Years in the Making

From the beginning, many teams have been involved in the process: concept and design, animal husbandry, finance, architects, construction, specialists in concrete and acrylics, and more. That’s a lot of people to coordinate! Gibula has his hands in all aspects of the planning and construction, acting as an animal, exhibit, and water quality liaison between the involved teams.

But before any of the construction could even begin, the basic criteria of what we wanted the guest to experience had to be formed. After that, every part of the exhibit had to be designed to fit that —from the types of animals, to the features of the exhibit and the touch tank itself. Colors and backdrops were decided, dimensions measured out, and a custom-designed water filtration system built.

Gibula has his hands in all aspects of the planning and construction, acting as an animal, exhibit, and water quality quality liaison between the involved teams.

Biologists wear many different hats. When he’s not taking care of the penguins, Dan Clady is often asked to use his artistic skills to recreate natural structures.

Biologist Jen Hazeres is perfecting the technique for creating rockwork decor out of normal concrete.

An interactive experience was important from the beginning. Stingrays were decided on because not only are they popular, but they are a hardy, sustainable species—and one that doesn’t mind letting humans touch them!

Every detail has been discussed and decided beforehand… including the name!

Meaning Behind the Name

“A lot of names were thrown around, but we chose Stingray Hideaway for a reason,” Gibula said. “We designed it to look like we’re in a cove, away from all the pressures of the city and of everyday life. It’s designed to look like a lagoon opening up from the ocean.”

Stingray Hideaway is set to open in May. “We designed it to look like we’re in a cove, away from all the pressures of the city and of everyday life. “The exhibit was designed to look like a lagoon opening up from the ocean,” Gibula said.

This lagoon idea has a personal connection for Gibula. When his daughter was younger, he used to take her on vacation to Puerto Rico, where they would stay in a beach house on a lagoon. And every day, they would go out to the water of the lagoon and the tide would sweep in fish and other sea creatures that they would scoop up in jars. Gibula remembers her excitement at getting to see and interact with these creatures up close before they let them go back into the water. “This memory expanded into something to share with everybody,” he said.

Stay tuned for Part 2: A Hideaway for You… and for Stingrays, Too! Learn about the vitally important part of the exhibit.